Rome: A witness in the Rome trial, conducted in absentia, of four Egyptian security officers accused of kidnapping, torturing, and killing Italian student Giulio Regeni in 2016, testified on Tuesday that he heard Regeni complaining in Arabic while being tortured.
According to Ansa News Agency, the witness, referred to as “Delta,” provided his testimony under ‘protected mode,’ describing hearing Regeni’s voice during the torture sessions. He identified National Security General Tariq Sabir, Colonels Athar Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim and Helmi, and Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif as the absent defendants in the trial. Egypt has refused to notify the officers of the proceedings.
Delta recounted seeing Regeni for the first time at the Dokki police station on January 25, 2016, where both were detained. Regeni reportedly requested to speak with a lawyer and his embassy. A Palestinian former prisoner, who was held in the same Cairo secret police facility, stated in an Al Jazeera video last month that he witnessed Re
geni blindfolded and exhausted from torture. The Palestinian described seeing Regeni being carried by jailers after an interrogation session.
Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge University researcher, was allegedly tortured and killed after being suspected of espionage. His mother, Paola Deffendi, could only recognize him by “the tip of his nose” due to the severity of his injuries. The Palestinian witness in the court added that Regeni was tortured with electric shocks and interrogated by various officers, including a psychology-specialized colonel.
Amnesty International has highlighted Regeni’s case as part of a broader pattern of alleged political disappearances in Egypt. An Italian autopsy revealed signs of extreme torture on Regeni’s body, including contusions, abrasions, fractures, stab wounds, cuts, burns, brain hemorrhage, and a broken cervical vertebra, which caused his death.
Despite these revelations, Egypt cleared the accused officers. Regeni’s body was discovered on February 3, 2016, a week after
his disappearance. Egypt has offered multiple explanations for his death, ranging from a car accident to a gay lovers’ quarrel, and even a fabricated kidnapping gang scenario.
Italy’s response to the lack of cooperation from Egypt included temporarily withdrawing its ambassador from Cairo. However, Italian governments have faced criticism from Regeni’s parents for maintaining cooperation with Egypt on various bilateral deals. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has pledged to uncover the truth about Regeni’s murder. In protest, Italian journalist Corrado Augias returned his Legion d’Honneur to France after the award was given to Sisi for fostering Franco-Egyptian relations.
